Ballistic Publishing recently released a second book in their Digital Artist Master Class series: d’artiste Digital Master Class: Character Modeling. The Master Artist's interviews are entertaining and informative to both budding and professional artists. The high quality glossy artistic pages are exquisite. The detailed comprehensive tutorials are aimed at digital artists, yet they are easy to understand as well as beneficial to all artists — traditional or digital.

If you purchase d’artiste Digital Master Class: Character Modeling just for the interviews with the three Master Artists [Francisco A. Cortina, Pascal Blanche, and Steven Stahlberg] it would be an outstanding buy!

Each Master Artist delves into his individual background, revealing the everyday secrets of a professional artist’s inner-soul. They each answer the question, “When did your artistic drive emerge, and how was it nurtured?” They also give inspiring advice that all artists, new and seasoned, should take to heart.

Although the book is geared to digital artists — the interviews had me yearning to dig-out my sketchpad and get-back to the basics of art!

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If you purchase d’artiste Digital Master Class: Character Modeling just for the artwork, it would be a worthy addition to your art book collection.

Nestled within each Master Artist’s “section,” is an Invited Artist Gallery, featuring images from some of the greatest digital artists of our time. Accompanying each of the invited artist’s gallery images is a short blurb, with insightful thoughts from the Master Artist on why that specific artist was chosen.

The Invited Artist Galleries make Character Modeling a must have coffee table book, that should be in every artists’ personal library.

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However, if you purchase d’artiste Digital Master Class: Character Modelingjust for the in-depth character modeling tutorials, and you are a digital artist [or have a life-long passion to make a living as a character modeler], this book could be a life-altering experience.

Francisco A. Cortina teaches modeling techniques, through his comprehensive tutorials — Human Modeling: Young Girl’s Face, Human Modeling: Crouched Figure, and Human Modeling: Hair. Even if you are not an expert modeler, the tips and tricks on hair and eyes will hold even the traditional artists’ interest.

Pascal Blanche looks at face modeling from a fresh viewpoint, exploring the theory of “what is hidden is as important as what can be seen; as he explores how muscle, skin texture, and lighting can impact the final imagery with his classes in: Human Modeling: The Face and Human Modeling: Skin Shading. Ending his series with a behind the scenes close-up look into the creation of his image One Last Time.

Steven Stahlberg's Creature Creations

Steven Stahlberg takes modeling beyond reality with his classes in; Creature Modeling: Mermaid, Anatomy Study: Steel, and Creature Modeling: Refueling. Stahlberg’s series of classes take you into the realms of Sci-Fi and Fantasy with insights on birthing creatures from the figments of your own imagination.

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If you are a modeler [novice or advanced] I highly recommend d’artiste Digital Master Class: Character Modeling. For those who are not “into” modeling, or have not yet experienced the beauty of digital art - I would still highly recommend d’artiste Digital Master Class: Character Modeling.

From cover to cover, Ballistic Publishing takes great care in creating a superior quality publication — d’artiste Digital Master Class: Character Modeling is truly a work of art! Add it to your library for the outstanding learning experience, and enjoy it for years to come for the imagery!

By: nemirc on 10/3/05
The book looks indeed interesting, however I don't know if it would be better to get this one or "3D human modeling and animation" by Peter Ratner (the modeling part... the animation part falls short for my taste :) ).

Thanks for the article :p

By: umblefugly on 10/3/05
3D Human Modeling is a winner. This one is mainly artwork with no in depth tutorials or techniques. Just brief tips and such.

By: deemarie on 10/3/05
Hi nemirc,If you are looking primarily for a book on animation, perhaps this would not be the best buy for your specific needs ... however, I do feel that you would get a lot of modeling information from the book, that would indeed help with your animations :]

Thanks so much for your input — I am very excited that you had the opportunity to read the book.

Do I agree that Character Modeling is filled with amazing images — most definitely! However, of the nearly 200 pages of content, over half the pages are dedicated to modeling or modeling advice — plus I am sure you agree, that studying the images of Master Artists would also be considered a part of the learning experience.

Yes, there are many tips and tricks, however, there are even more “in-depth” step-by-step tutorials [with accompanying screen grabs] that would be of great value to all levels of modelers.

Again, always great to hear from a reader who has experienced the book :]

Dee-Marie

By: Moebius87 on 10/3/05
I've purchased books from Ballistic Publishing before and they've never fallen short on either quality or content. While I am not a character modeler, I am always inspired by great artists with a deep passion for their craft. After reading this article I will definitely purchase this book as well.

Thank you for sharing your insights on the book, Dee-Marie. :o)

Cheers! — Möe

By: deemarie on 10/5/05
Hey Moe,Thanks so much for your comment. If you do purchase this one, be sure to let us know what you think :]

Have a great oneDee-Marie

By: djthomas on 10/5/05
I received my copy of this book yesterday and was astounded at the quality of the publication. Absolutely beautiful, and in its own slipcase. I had debated getting two others in this series, Digital Painting and Matte Painting, and because of the outstanding quality of Character Modeling, I will be purchasing these as well.

Thanks for mentioning the book's outer cover. That is such an outstanding addition to keep the book looking new, even after a lot of use :] Keep checking The Front Page News for future reviews in this series.